By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter
It looks promising that another new development is going to come to the Covington Central Riverfront site. At their regular caucus meeting this week , Commissioners listened to a presentation by city Economic Development Director Tom West recommending the new developer and plan: A $67.2 million mixed-use project on blocks M and N, with 257 market-rate apartments, 194 parking spaces, 7,700 square-feet of retail space and a public alley.
The developers are CCR-MN Investment Partners, LLC, which includes Silverman and Company, Messer and KZF Design.
“Just over 1.3 acres is what we’re talking about tonight,” West said. “We went through a process where we solicited proposals … we were looking for office developers and of course the market is not right for that right now, but we did receive an unsolicited proposal after the process had closed.”
West noted that the land purchase will be $2.6 million. He also said the deal will not need any other incentives from the city, and return on investment will be 5.1 percent annualized. That translates to $228,000 in new annual revenue, with new parking spaces and retail/restaurant spaces.
“This LLC that was formed to specifically develop this project — is a combination of a number of companies,” West said. “Silverman and Company, which has a history of doing a lot of fantastic developments in this region … KZF Design, as architects and engineers … they’re successful, they do high quality developments.”
West showed one of their recent developments across the river in Deerfield Township.
“They understand that urban environment,” he said. “They understand walkability and scale and we were very impressed by that.”
West noted how the company made a point to listen to city officials to determine what the best proposal could be.
Apartments will be everything from studios to two-bedrooms.
Construction should begin within 120 days of closing, and completed in 18 months, according to the plan.
“They’re also bringing new residents to Covington and providing the parking for those residents,” West said.
The proposed development agreement will be given a first reading at next week’s legislative meeting, with a probable second reading and vote in two weeks.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting:
New Budget and an amendment
The fiscal year 2025 budget proposal was presented, and thoroughly vetted, at meetings on May 11 and May 18, so officials gave an overview Tuesday night.
General fund revenues and expenditures are anticipated at $70,404,823 million. City officials say they expect an increase in payroll tax from Fidelity as people return to work. Major projects include: Continued development of the IRS site, the new City Hall and longtime legacy pension contributions.
“I do want to go ahead and extend kudos to the city administration and the finance department for its work on this budget,” said Mayor Joseph U. Meyer. “It has been very challenging for a variety of reasons, but I feel that there’s been as deep a dive into the city’s expenditures as we have had in a very, very long time …. We are really getting as down to the minimal operational requirements without a lot of fluff in this budget, but at the same time — because of the change to circumstances — we have been able to maintain the level and quality of the city services, we are adding people back and we are continuing with our investment in the city. We can maintain the progress that we’ve made for the past several years, so thanks to all of you for your work.”
Commissioner Steve Hayden agreed.
“I would like to follow (the) previous comments about the production of the new budget,” he said. “It was quite extraordinary that something that complex and difficult was done very smoothly, on time. I watched it all happen. Very impressive.”
The city budget will have its first reading at next week’s legislative meeting. After a second reading, the budget will get an official vote for approval.
Amendment:
Commissioners also heard a request for an amendment to the fiscal 2024 budget, adding $1,164,000 to the fire department personnel budget, offset by the same amount in payroll tax revenues, and adding $700,149 in housing choice voucher expense, offset by $863,149 in federal food revenues.
This request was also put on next week’s agenda for a first reading.
Short-term Rental 2nd Reading and Vote
At next week’s legislative meeting, commissioners will hear the second reading and vote on an ordinance amending the Covington neighborhood development code, changing non-host occupied short-term rentals from a conditional use to a limited use for six districts.
Next Week Presentations
Commissioners approved two requests for presentations next week, one regarding the actions that need to be taken in order for Covington to regulate the sale and/or manufacturing of medical cannabis under the recently enacted statutes, and another that is an annual hearing on the draft of the HUD Action Plan.
Resignations, Promotions and New Hires
Commissioners heard proposals for resignations, promotions and new hires for:
Resignation – Sharon Snowden, Payroll Specialist, Finance Department
Promotion – Firefighter Grade IV to Engineer, Fire Department
New Hire – Adam Lipps, Police Officer, Police Department
All were placed on next week’s consent agenda.
Next Meeting
The next regularly scheduled Covington Commission meeting will be a legislative meeting held at 6 p.m., June 11, at the City Building at 20 W. Pike St. in Covington. The meeting can be followed live on Fioptics channel 815, Spectrum channel 203, the Telecommunications Board of Northern Kentucky (TBNK) website, the TBNK Facebook page @TBNKonline, and the TBNK Roku channels.